Process for making and burning fuel-gas.



2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

No. 816,314. PATENTBD MAR. 27, 1966,

W. T. GRIFFIN. A PRGBSS FOR MAKING AND BURNING FUEL GAS. erneuten Hmm nm. n, 1903 mom 300x@ www: M.

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PATENTED MAR. 27, 1906. W. T, GRIFFIN. PROCESS POR MAKING ND BURNING FBL GS. .armonas Hun Dna. 12, moa

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TNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE...

WALTER T. GRIFFIN, OF PLAINFELD, NEW JERSEY.

PROCESS FOR MAKING AND BURNING FUEL-GAS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 2?,.1906.

lpplicatien tiled eecmter 13, lQS. Serial No. 185,06.

To will whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WALTER T. GRFFIN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Plainfield, county of Union, and State of 5 New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Processes for Making and Burning Fuel-Gas, of which the followin is a specification. invention relates to an improved 1grocess for making a fuel or burning gas for eating purposes-as, for instance, for use in furnaces of steam-generators and the like. Thevgas, however, may be enriched by the addition'uof suitable hydrocarbons or burned in presence of a carbon for use ssen illuminant. In ractcing theproccssahydrocarhonora suita le carlwnaceous material-euch as coal, peat, sawdust, or the like-in pulverizcd or comrninuted condition is fed to or mixed with water or steam under pressure, superheatedsteam being preferred, and then subjected to high heat 1n a retort or retorts, so 1 l that the fine carbonaceous material or hydroicarbon is gasiedV and" the aqueous va or of f the steam 1s brougtto the pointor a niost to the point of dissociation, forming in the main'a mixture of carbonio oxid and hydro- ,gen and making, i'n effect, awater-gas, which afterward by the addition of atmospheric air w g or ox. x en may `be burned, producing great; i heat. i

An improved apparatus adapted to carry out this process is shown in the accompany-" 3 5 in drawings, Jn Whichigure 1 is a. sectional elevation; Fig. 2, an'

end view,partly in section; and Figz, aseotional elevation of a modified arrangement.

The improvements are shown in connec- 40 tion with a brick furnace A, lined with firebrick, and a ilue B of an ordinary cylindrical steam-generator C. In the furnace is arranged a iongitudinal main retort D, connected at its inner end with a seconda retort or gas-conduit E in the form of a orizontal crosswise-extendi coil. The retort D may be a com aratvely large metallic tube covered, if dsired, with a refractory material and sup orted by the' brickwork of the fur- 5o nace, as y its front Wall, and by a cross-bar F at its inner end. The retort D'extends through the front Wall of the furnace and at its outer end is provided with an injectornozzie a, that is connected to a steam-supply pipe b, having a valve c. This injector may he supplied with an oil-chamber d, connected with a reservoir of oil b a pipe e, that is controlled by a valve f. T e same end of the retort D is connected with a vertically or otherwise arranged feed-tube G, having a rotative feeding-worm H for su plying needed quantities of a powdered car onaceous material such as coal, peat, sawdust, and the like`the arrangement being such that either a liquid hydrocarbon, a powdered carbonaceous material, or a mixture of both may he supplied to the Vsteam or forced by the steam passing from the inieetor-nozzle a to be carried with the steam aiong and through the retort D. The gas-eonduit E also extends throi h the front ,vall of the furnace, is controllo by a valve N, and terminates in a nozzle g of an injector or fuel-burner 7i, projecting into the furnace. This injector is also connected with an atmospheric air-supply pipe i, con ducted throu h the walls of the furnace, so that the air siall become heated therefrom before entering the injector or burner. This pipe may also have a valve, if desired, to regulate the volume of air sup lied to the fue gas being injected into the urnace for hurnn operating this apparatus a preliminary fire of any description is started in the furnace, either by injection of oil and steam or air or hv other means, suicient to incre or less highly heat the main retort D and its communicatin conduit E. When these are proporly heate and asnpply of steam has. been provided-say in a sinali auxiliar)r bollerthc valves f and c wili be opened to allow oil and steam to he injected together along and throu rh the heated retort D, which bly means of its heated wall will vaporize the oi and attenuate the aqueous vapor. This gas and vapor will pass as a mixture through the heated conduit E, become still more vaporized and attenuated to issue from the burner 7i with the hot air from the pipe 'i into the furnace and he ignited and burned, whereupon the preliminary fire will be alowed to die out. The heat of the burning fuel supplied by the burner adualv increases the heat of the retort an the gasconduit until the heat 1s sufficient to practically dissociate the gases of the a ueous vapor within the retort and conduit, (forming by reason of the presence of the carbon mixed therewith carbon monoxid and hydrogen, which then issue from the burner h to be burned, and this will continue so long as the carbon and steam are admitted to the retort. An exceedingly-fierce flame and under considerable pressure `is the result capable of carrying to a long distance through the furnace flue or ues B, so that steamis quickly enerated and maintained in the boiler C. en this occurs, the steam supplied to the injector-nozzle a may be taken from this boiler and the auxiliary boiler cut ofl. At the same time that the retort and conduit are being heated the air-pipe i is also becoming heated from radiation through the furnacewalls, so that highly-heated atmospheric air is supplied to the burner h to support combustlon of the fuel-gas in the furnace.

The powdered carbonaceous material may be fed to the injector-nozzle a and be injected along with the steam through the retort in lieu of the liquid hydrocarbon, or in addition thereto, if desired. Itis referred, however, after the interior of the liirnace has become suitably hot to gradually cut off the supply of oil (where oil is used) from entering the retort With the Steam and to then depend wholly upon the feed of carbonaceous material from the feed-tube G for the supply of carbon.

Where it is intended to utilize the powdered carbonaceous material for injection with the steam, the inner end of the retort D may communicate with a gas-tight pocket J, leading to the interior of the furnace, in which pocket the undecomposed matter or ash may collect instead of passing to the burner and be from time to time blown out of the pocket or removed therefrom by opening a suitable valve or plate K at the lower end, and the inner end of the pocket may have a deflector L to prevent the onward passage of such solid matter into the conduit or burner.

Should the fuel-gas be made in greater A quantities than is needed for combustion in the furnace-as when a higher percentage of carbon is sup lied, for instance-the excess may be led off) by a connection n (see dotted lines, Fig. 1) to another or distant furnace or other structure and there be used or stored.

If the excess gas be sent to storage, it may be burned in the presence of a stack of incandescent ooal or coke and treated, if need be, with a hydrocarbon to render it capable of being used as an illuminant and be otherwise treated, as is usual With such gases. W'here superheated steam is to be used with the carbon supplied to the retort D, the steam-generator may be supplied with any usual form of steam-superheater and the steam conducted from it to the injector-mzzl@ d, lwith the result of greater efficiency in the apparatus.

In lieu of the atmospheric air supplied by the pipe 'i for supportm the combustion of the gases issuing at the urner h or in addition thereto a jet of steam may be supplied by a nozzle p, (see dotted lines, Fig. 1,) and this jet of steam may also' aid in drawing-the gases through the retort or retorts and prevent back pressure therein, tending to stop the free supply of the carbonaceous material to the retort.

The pressure on both sides of the carbon bein fed, sa by the worm H in the feeder G maye equa ized b providing an e ualizingpipe q, (see dotted ines, Fi 1,) leading from the retort D to the hopper of the feeder on the upper side of the carbon therein, the hopper being a closedngne and the carbon fed thereto in a manner common in feeding material to structures working under ressure.

While the retort D and con uit E have been referred to as separable connected parts, it is obvious the two may be made up of a single sufficiently long conduit and of uniform diameter.

The connections with the burner h (see Fig 3) may be provided with an oil-supply chamber o, connected to the reservoir of oil by a pipe j and controlled by a valve c, and the ucl-gas nozzle g may also be connected with the steam-pipe b by a branch pipe l, having a valve m, by which oil and steam may be inj ected for burning in the furnace in lieu of the fuel-gas conducted by the conduit E or for use in providing the preliminary fire to initially heat the retort and conduit. In such case, however, a valve r, interposed between apo the steamipe b and the injector-nozzle a, should be c osed. So,.too, oil from the chamber o may be used to supplement the fuel-gas at the burner h.

The particular form and arrangement of apparatus herein shown may be varied to sult the kind of furnace or steam-generator with which it is em loyed.

1. The herein-described process of generating and burning fuel-gas, which conslsts in' passing a mixture of steam and inelydivided carbonaceous material through a heated zone, conducting the formed gases through the zone, introducing a supply of oxygen into the current of gases, and burning the mixture ibenelath the zone to maintain the same, as set ort 2. The herein-described process of generating and burning fuel-gas, which consists in passln a mixture of superheated steam and finelyivided carbonaceous material through a heated zone, conducting the formed gases back through the zone to a point outside the IIO same, introducing a supply of oxygen into of New York and State of New York, this 9th the current;i of hgases, thelbconducting the day of December, 1903.

mixture un er t e zone an urning t e mixture, as Set forth WALTER T. GRIFFIN.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto Witnesses:

signed my name, in the fesence of two at- S. M. JANNEY.

testing Wltnesses, at N ew' Ork, in the county F. LIGARI. 

